Théodore Géricault was a noted French painter. Born Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault, at Rouen, France, Sept. 26, 1791. Died Paris, France, Jan. 26, 1824.
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| Raft of the Medusa |
Géricault was a forerunner of the Romantic movement in art. He was the first major artist to rebel against the idealistic Neoclassical tradition by choosing for his subjects events from contemporary life. Typical of his dramatic style are his studies of riders and horses in motion, his portraits of the insane, and his vivid pictures of important current events. His best-known single work is the
Raft of the Medusa (the Louvre, Paris), a violent portrayal of the survivors of a notorious shipwreck. The painting caused a public sensation at the 1819 Salon.
Brought up in Paris, Géricault studied art with Carie Vernet and Fierre Guérin. His early paintings of military scenes and horses shocked the Academy of Fine Arts with their spontaneity and emphasis on violence. Even more revolutionary were his antislavery subjects and other works in behalf of freedom and social reform.
Géricault's early death was the result of an accident while horseback riding. Although his active career lasted for only 12 years and he exhibited only three paintings, Géricault greatly influenced the works of Delacroix, Courbet, and other important artists of the 19th century.
